Biography

Vlad Stanculeasa leads a rich musical life as soloist, teacher, concertmaster, and chamber musician throughout Europe, Asia and South America.
He’s performed chamber music with some of the most celebrated musicians of today including Maxim Vengerov, Janine Jansen, Tabea Zimmermann, Alberto Lysy, Steven Isserlis, Maximilian Hornung, Jose Gallardo, Andreas Brantelid, Viktoria Mullova, Jeremy Menuhin, and Ana Chumachenco. He received top prizes in the George Enescu International Violin Competition, Renata Molinari Competition, Valsesia Musica International Competition, as well as the 2007 Enescu Prize for the best performance of Enescu’s Impressions d’enfance.
As a soloist, he’s performed with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Kammersymphonie Leipzig, George Enescu Philharmonic. He’s collaborated as soloist with many conductors including Kent Nagano, Lahav Shani, Han Na Chang, Konrad von Abel, Ludovic Morlot, Joana Carneiro, Min Kim, and Mischa Katz.
Stanculeasa has been Concertmaster of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 2010 until 2018.
He previously served as Concertmaster of the Spanish National Orchestra in Madrid, Basel Symphony Orchestra and as Concertmaster of the Basel Chamber Orchestra where he often led the ensemble without a conductor. He is currently the leader of Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bochumer Symphoniker, and is occupying the same position in the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, orchestra in residence of the Menuhin Festival.
As a guest concertmaster he has worked with orchestras such as: Bamberger Symphoniker, l'Accademia di Santa Cecilia Roma, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kammersymphonie Leipzig, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Bern Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra alongside conductors like Jaap van Zweden, Gustavo Dudamel, Neeme Järvi, Kent Nagano, Manfred Honneck, Christoph Eschenbach.
He studied with Alberto Lysy and Liviu Prunaru at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland and in the Lausanne Conservatory under the tutelage of Pierre Amoyal. He released his debut album in 2013 on the RCA Red Seal/Sony label with a program dedicated to Romanian concert music performed with pianist Thomas Hoppe.
The Strad Magazine review stated that “Stanculeasa is never in doubt in this very demanding program - his picture-painting in the Impressions d’enfance, in particular, is both subtle and brilliant. A warm tonal quality, born out of a wide vibrato, perfectly captures…gypsy element[s]…”.
2017 brought the release of “Pyramids” recording where together with pianist James Maddox he performs music by Nielsen, Messiaen and Enescu. As an educator, Stanculeasa is currently a teacher at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Barcelona (ESMUC), has served as guest professor at Gothenburg University of Music and Drama and led multiple master classes throughout Serbia, Spain, Venezuela, and Sweden.
He is the founder and artistic director of NUME Academy & Festival in Italy, a prestigious tuition free international masterclass for advanced students.
A chance encounter with Sergiu Celibidache’s assistant, Konrad von Abel, led to the establishment of an intense investigation of the phenomenology of music. This led to a further necessity to develop his means of expression and in 2021, he has obtained his masters in orchestra conducting at the Royal Conservatory in Mons, Belgium, under Daniel Gazon.
Stanculeasa plays a Lorenzo Storioni, Cremona, 1775 and an Antonio Stradivari "Jules Garcin" 1731 kindly loaned by the Erasmus Foundation.

 


 

Vlad Stanculeasa conduce una ricca vita musicale come solista, insegnante, Konzertmeister e musicista da camera in Europa, Asia e Sud America.
Ha suonato musica da camera con alcuni dei musicisti più celebri dei nostri giorni, tra cui Maxim Vengerov, Janine Jansen, Tabea Zimmermann, Alberto Lysy, Steven Isserlis, Maximilian Hornung, José Gallardo, Andreas Brantelid, Viktoria Mullova, Jeremy Menuhin e Ana Chumachenco. Ha ricevuto i massimi riconoscimenti al Concorso Internazionale di Violino George Enescu, al Concorso Renata Molinari, al Concorso Internazionale Valsesia Musica, così come il Premio Enescu 2007 per la migliore interpretazione delle Impressions d’enfance.
Come solista si è esibito con la Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestra da Camera di Losanna, l’Orchestra Sinfonica di Barcellona, la Basel Chamber Orchestra, la Korean Chamber Orchestra, la Kammersymphonie Leipzig e la Filarmonica “George Enescu”. Ha collaborato come solista con direttori quali Kent Nagano, Lahav Shani, Han Na Chang, Konrad von Abel, Ludovic Morlot, Joana Carneiro, Min Kim e Mischa Katz.
Dal 2010 al 2018 è stato Konzertmeister della Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. In precedenza ha ricoperto il ruolo di Konzertmeister presso l’Orquesta Nacional de España a Madrid, la Basel Symphony Orchestra e la Basel Chamber Orchestra, dove ha spesso guidato l’ensemble senza direttore. Attualmente è primo violino dell’Orchestra Filarmonica di Rotterdam, della Bochumer Symphoniker e ricopre lo stesso ruolo presso la Gstaad Festival Orchestra, orchestra in residenza al Menuhin Festival.
Come Konzertmeister ospite ha collaborato con orchestre quali i Bamberger Symphoniker, l’Accademia di Santa Cecilia di Roma, la Singapore Symphony Orchestra, la Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, la Kammersymphonie Leipzig, la WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, la Bern Symphony Orchestra, la Swedish Chamber Orchestra, lavorando con direttori come Jaap van Zweden, Gustavo Dudamel, Neeme Järvi, Kent Nagano, Manfred Honneck e Christoph Eschenbach.
Ha studiato con Alberto Lysy e Liviu Prunaru presso l’International Menuhin Music Academy di Gstaad (Svizzera) e successivamente al Conservatorio di Losanna sotto la guida di Pierre Amoyal.
Nel 2013 ha pubblicato il suo album di debutto per RCA Red Seal/Sony con un programma dedicato alla musica concertistica romena, insieme al pianista Thomas Hoppe. La rivista The Strad scrisse: “Stanculeasa non è mai in difficoltà in questo programma molto impegnativo - la sua pittura sonora nelle Impressions d’enfance, in particolare, è al tempo stesso sottile e brillante. Una calda qualità timbrica, nata da un ampio vibrato, cattura perfettamente gli elementi gitani…”.
Il 2017 ha portato all’uscita del disco Pyramids in duo con il pianista James Maddox, con musiche di Nielsen, Messiaen ed Enescu.
In qualità di docente, Stanculeasa insegna attualmente al Conservatorio Superiore di Musica di Barcellona (ESMUC), è stato professore ospite all’Università di Musica e Teatro di Göteborg e ha tenuto numerose masterclass in Serbia, Spagna, Venezuela e Svezia.
È fondatore e direttore artistico della NUME Academy & Festival in Italia, una prestigiosa masterclass internazionale gratuita per studenti avanzati.
Un incontro casuale con l’assistente di Sergiu Celibidache, Konrad von Abel, ha portato all’avvio di un intenso percorso di indagine sulla fenomenologia della musica. Da questa esperienza è nata la necessità di sviluppare ulteriormente i propri mezzi espressivi e, nel 2021, ha conseguito un Master in Direzione d’Orchestra al Conservatorio Reale di Mons, in Belgio, sotto la guida di Daniel Gazon.
Stanculeasa suona un violino Lorenzo Storioni, Cremona 1775, e un Antonio Stradivari “Jules Garcin” Cremona 1731, gentilmente concesso dalla Rotterdam Erasmus Foundation.

Discography

Pyramids

2017

Footprint Records release of Pyramids: James Maddox and Vlad Stanculeasa perform Nielsen, Messiaen and Enescu.

Romanian Journey

2013

Sony/RCA Red Seal presents Romanian Journey: a voyage into the world of Enescu, Olah, Jora and Constantinescu.
Thomas Hoppe, piano / Vlad Stanculeasa, violin

Divertimento

2013

Kammerorchester Basel - Mozart, Klein, Bartok
Vlad Stanculeasa concertmaster / leader
Sony Classics

Soloists of the Camerata Lysy

2006

Dorati & Mendelssohn String Octets
Dinemec Classics

Swan Lake

2015

Kristjan Järvi Conductor
Gstaad Festival Orchestra
Vlad Stanculeasa Leader/Solo Violin
Sony Classics

Svendsen & Bruch: String Octets

2012

Tharice Virtuosi
Claves Records

Photogallery

Videogallery

NUME Festival | Cortona, Italy | June 2023

Anton Webern's Langsamer Satz for string quartet. Relais and Chateaux Il Falconiere.

Ettore Causa (viola), Vlad Stanculeasa (violin), SongHa Choi (violin) and HaYoung Choi (cello)

NUME Festival | Cortona, Italy | June 2023

C. Debussy, String Quartet - Vlad Stanculeasa, Hiu Sing Fan, Katie Liu, Francesco Tamburini

Vlad Stanculeasa (violin), Hiu Sing Fan (violin), Katie Liu (viola), Francesco Tamburini (cello)

NUME Festival | Cortona, Italy | June 2024

Tchaïkovski String Quartet n.1 in C major op.11 - Scherzo. Allegro non tanto e con fuoco

Vlad Stanculeasa (violin), Jake Dongyoung Shim (violin), Wanxinyi Huang (viola), Li La (cello)

Basel | January 2021

Brahms sextet in B Flat op. 18

Vlad Stanculeasa, Axel Schacher, Harold Hirtz, Hannes Bärtschi, Antoine Lederlin, Christopher Jepson

Carl Nielsen

Violin concerto op. 33

George Enescu Philharmonic
Aleksander Mickelthwate

George Enescu

String octet op. 7

Camerata Lysy
 

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Violin concerto op. 64 in e minor

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Lahav Shani, conductor

Romania Matters

Vlad Stanculeasa about Enescu Competition


Tchaikovski: Dance

THARICE VIRTUOSI

Concert in Bern at the Paul Klee Center
May 2013 soloist Vlad Stanculeasa - violin

Peak to Peak

A movie inspired by the latest recording Pyramids.

Constantin Georgescu and his crew of dancers have made some magic inspired by our work.

Events

Enescu & Mendelssohn

  • September 7-8th 2025 | Constanta, Romania

Vlad Stanculeasa, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Hasan Niyazi Tura

G. Enescu - Ballade for violin and orchestra
F. Mendelssohn - violin concerto in e minor op. 64

 


Enescu & Mendelssohn

  • September 10th, 2025 | Targu Mures, Romania

Vlad Stanculeasa, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Hasan Niyazi Tura

G. Enescu - Ballade for violin and orchestra
F. Mendelssohn - violin concerto in e minor op. 64

Event information and program


Enescu & Mendelssohn

  • September 12th 2025 | Craiova, Romania

Vlad Stanculeasa, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Hasan Niyazi Tura

G. Enescu - Ballade for violin and orchestra
F. Mendelssohn - violin concerto in e minor op. 64

Event information and program


Recital with pianist James Maddox

  • October 19th, 2025 | Bochum, Germany

Works by Schubert, Brahms, Sibelius and Enescu.

Event information and program


 


Glazunov violin concerto

  • November 21st, 2025 | Bucharest, Romania

A. Glazunov - violin concerto in A minor op. 82

Vlad Stanculeasa, The Romanian Radio National Orchestra, Sascha Goetzel

Event information and program


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